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Fossil from the Little Miami River (Orthocerus)

Object Status:

Unlocated

Accession Date:

June 30, 1817

Primary Source Reference:

Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 87

Notes:

Originally Orthoceras referred to all nautiloids with a straight-shell, called an "orthocone," but is now only used to refer to the type species O. regulare of the Baltic states and Sweden. The Peale Museum specimen may have been a similar species in the genus Michelinoceras, more commonly known as the Orthocerida.

The donor may have been John Finney McClenachan (1744-1825), who served in the Chester County (Pa.) militia during the Revolution and later moved to Kentucky.